TAFE college merger on the table for discussion

The CEO of Advance TAFE, Shaun McDonagh today confirmed his institution and GippsTAFE are exploring ways to work together to ensure vocational education remains relevant and viable in the future.

Also included in the talks are Chisholm Institute which has a campus in Wonthaggi and the newly created Federation University which will take over Monash University's Churchill campus from January.

Mr McDonagh says all options are on the table for discussion and did not rule out a merger between the colleges.

"All options will be considered, whatever the structure, partnership, collaboration, affiliation - use any label you wish, they are all under consideration," he says.

The idea of a 'super TAFE' in Gippsland was flagged last August when the University of Ballarat revealed it was speaking with TAFE colleges across the state to form a partnership under a model dubbed the 'Menzies Alliance'.

The idea of amalgamating Advance TAFE, GippsTAFE and Chisholm was also submitted to the Victorian Government last year and formed part of a report investigating what changes colleges would have to make to remain viable.

"Advance TAFE, GippsTAFE and Chisholm Institute are certainly looking at what partnership and arrangement would best serve our respective stakeholders and also looking at options in terms of Federation University and what's happening with the Churchill campus and their growth and aspirations," Mr McDonagh says.

The boards of the TAFE colleges are expected to have formulated a preferred option for merger or partnerships by January.